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DE
" ,
ER
'aztow. Messages :
Many topics invite our attention ; but none with
more emphisis,at the present juncture, than a con
sideration of Moral Chivalry—its nature and supe.
riority, and the necesssity for its exercise in this
age and, couldtrY-
-Within the last two years, we have seen the
young and ambitions, in every department of life,
abandoning their peaceful occupations, and rushing
to the conflict of battle; all eager to share in the
glory which the world still bestows on the chival
ry'of arms. Sostrong is this impulse—so irresis
tible is the fascination of military. glory, that, we
have seen a young -13ero 7 (Elt in Brute !) high a
bove his compeers in honor and in fame; who, in
ii - great moral! and political enterprise, had given
to his country and the world, pledges the most he
mic of hisdevotion to the cause of Human Freed
om--in a moment of military madness—descend
from his high moral elevation, throW down a pen
* ' '-,
• -,-. '
, -e, . . with which he was convulsing the nation,to take up
-t- :-- ' arms, as a redunteer,(worse than all,) in opposition
..
~', c _ , . -to the very cause to which he had devoted his life.
With such examples before us—with such such.
strange metamorphoses, wrought before our eyes,
i b m y m th in e en in t e d w ange at r io st ns ari or ng m u il s ita in ry
th g e l°rY fa — celd lih ou it sucb
not beCome us, as a sober and rational people, to
breitk.if poirsible, the spell which binds us—to in
'.
` . ' 'f laboringunder• ' •
l e
quire i we are not a greatclalusen
..,--:--if , a false estimate is not .placed on deeds of
- arms—if there is not in the scale of merit, en
older of - chivalry, higher, holler, more man
worthy 1
Our philosophical opinions on the nature and
destiny of man, often exercise a controlling influ
ence on ourviews of subordinate questions. When
"we arguethey are as often the secret premises of our
reasoning; and although, not expressed, they ex
ert an - influence on our conclusions, not the less
real. it is to a difference on these fundamental
questions, arising from differences of organziation
and educatiois,and thethe secret use ofour different
views on them, as the premises of our reasoning,
that we are to attribute the great diversity of o
pinions preirailing on moral subjects. Hence, ari
sea the division of mankind into the two great
parties, under whatever naine, of every age and
country•-•-the Conservative party on the one side,
and the Progressive Party or: the other, and the
consequent establishment of the two great opposing
schools of philosophy, in religion, in morals and
in politics. In an inquiry like the present, the in-
Iluenceef the peculiar views entertained on these
fandainental questions, must be obvious—tae con
servative philosophy producing one result, and the
pregressive philosophy another. I recollect, with
pleasure, the bold and honest frankness of a reve
rend gentleman, who, on one occasion" somewhat
similar, announced with a pride which I can well
understand, and with an emphasis which was the
best evidence of his-,sincerity—that he was a con
servative—that he belonged to, the- conservative
echool of philosophy. I shall imitate his example
on this occasion, so far, as to announce just the
tontrary—that I am a progressive, and that so far
seal can have any just 'pretensions to a rank its
any school of philosophy, I am proud of being
ranked as an humble 'disciple of the progressive
school.
I will not stop here to prove, brit will at once
assume, as the result of scientific investigation in
regard to the nature of man—that we are corn
pound beings, posseesing three great classes of
faculties, which may -denominated our animal, our
intellectual, our moral natures—that by our natural
constitution, these different natures have different
degrees of natural alevelopement„ mid activity.
That our animal nature has the greatest amount
:':•-',, of both—our intellectual nature, the next greater,
:k, while our moral nature has the least; that our
...,'.l.' , intellectual and moral natures , in the degree in
-:' l . '." - SVllich we possess them, constitute our chief Ills
titration in the scale of being , and thus clearly
' - indicate our proper sphere of action and destiny
aslnman b eings, that the developement and exal
.
tatuin of our intellectual' and_ moral natures,
successively, as the governing powers of human
life, or . id other words, the subordination of our
animal nature into harmonious action With
them, is the great work of civilization ; and that
in proportion, as this result is accomplished, either
its the min oi the individual man, or of nations,
is the work of civilization complete—that in or
der' to effectuate these great ends, 'progress is
•
made a primary law of our being, and that, con
• sequently,,,society must ever contain, within itself,
a = pligisasivernovement. With these principles
es our guide, we can readily anticipate the solu
tion of the great problem of civilisation and
sr te, in advance, the Philosophy of Human Histo
ry- The three great elements- of our nature, of
where' ws. have spoken, ever have, and
,ever will
..,. ' be found; distinctly impressing themselves accord
( • . ing do the ilifferent•degrees ; of thei? developement
' .- and activity, on be grand result, dividing it into
_ three great and equally well defined periods : Ist.
The Animal period, including-the savage and
• ~ . semi:civilized states of society, in which, although
• . . the intellectual and moral natures are not wholly
~. dormant, yet 'the faculties constituting the animal.
' - nature—such as combativeness, destructiveness,
~.. ,
, . aequisitiveness and the like,-are most active; de
termihing, at once, the objects of purshit, and the
Ed manes of their accomplishment, on the animal
principle that might makes right. This is the age
of -war, in which, Peace is the exception.—
'"• • 2d The Animal Intellectual Period, including
whit is , now:called the civilized state; in which
-; - the animal nature although partially subordinated
t_ to the intellectual, still deterrDines the objects of
• ....pursuit, while the intellectual nature which is now
..' l'' - w ith•
the. more active, an increased regard for con
siderations of moral right, out of the abundance of
'''its resources, supplies the tneans of their accom
', ;.. plishinent. This is the_ age of Physical Science
`• ' and IMprovement, in which War is the exception.
Bd. The Intellectual Moral Period, including the
. .
~..- beau ideal, or perfect state of society, in which
.... ' 1. the animal nature is completely subordinated into
harmony with the intellectual and moral natures—
' • = the last of which, now fully developed, determines
r,. - dit objects of pursuit, and atthe same time- regu
' ' latex the animal and the intellectual natures in the
use of the necessary; means of their accomplish.
, • ment. , This is the age of ennobling Science, of
.1.., , Universal Peace, and Good Will to man. These
~ .. A: "- • tbree periods of human history, although distinct,
-„- '. .'•,-
will nevertheless be found blending imperceptibly,
--- • -_ like the prisMatic colors of the rainbow, forming,
- "-; ..- by:their un i on, the beautiful story of human pro
0. :-;
:• .'. ;.... greats and developement. But in every period, the
heroic - element will -be found universal,. deeply
-,%,..„ ,- ...,, ~ -., ~ ,_ ..••• .-... .- • Vented in bhman nature, and as strongly marked
~..._,..-,, • -
~.-_, ~.
~-..!•-: t, 4 ~ t . '' , - , - -• , • in human history—prompting alike to the love
•••,-.',.. :',•;" . : 4. .`":•;'it'"- ; ',.' ''.. 1 ":•'.. 0 -.: t t..: '''.-:-• '''-, s.'-''!-. ` .•..: ...:-- , ''. and the performance of heroic deeds- , -the favorite
',.? z: • ; ; ;77. - 44 , ., ;-. -...., : :-.1:..."14 '4.7 • "N . F : t rif,';' , .',.; ;' ... --' ;•-• diem, of the poet and the painter, 'the orator and
4:' , ..t.'C' t.• 4 -. ,-; .1 t ., " .. --e,%""i ''''-"•.''' 14 `..i. • '-• ! • `' • *.; ' 7 ' - the sculptor ,the novelist and the historian : the
'-. ... t- itt' _. s'. ` - J....,...... - e•st - ' 2 V- ",-,-i ~-*. -,',- ' "- -.. , - - t h
' ••• ' si- - - '-a' ms: -.i.-.-..-a . --a- , ; ..4; ',--,..- , t , •- •-: -.- - -, - life, the. soul, e potver of progress, by the cultive
..:,,.z. -.. . -. ,".•i., .: - ..-vi.tet;'*E l '!,*."'‘ -"- ".z" • -` 4 : '' -l' '' fah which,we grow in the stature of manhood ,
- : ` , ...;,.i.',e': •,- .'_,, - •!..• - •••••.... - 7• , ,V ••••,''' ' ••••'`' ' „•; ',', ' t i on of - .
.;•,,, „: t ... '.!. ,••54-1••,,..?,,i , ‘ 'R.„.;
. '7 7 , , 1; .•''.1',..)
~ . :., ~ ' • from age to t we—by the exercise of which, we
*--; ..! ~;• ,- •,*_.t. ter*;; `'- .1. ;',...%,..;,',." -;'' ! ' - - rise in the scale of being, ` from glory to glory.
~..-.; ... ‘, ~,--!....- ; --t-..•
- .•',- ' ' - ' -- - -*- ~. -. r-. 4 --,,- -..,,, . . Nevertheless, it has different manileatations at i11.,-1444-7-4-,7-.=,
. ,-14 44 - 7 - 4-,7-.=, -1,',.. .... ' -, '''
•,.. , 17„, 1, 4, -,: 1 , -...; .. •fereat periods of history, according to the different
't ,..; 4 '1 . !.", : '•\ ';'"- -,:;.,! 4-' , ,C ,- 1 1 kr.'....:-,V - -",',.. , . : 4 '... '''' - 4-i ':
- 4 ~,, l i, '.. / !'' 2 , . degrees .of human civilization. Its distinctive
s- '-' 7O " '..'. ""' *--."=" '1`,.: , " , 7;41,t -1 ..- A.,.":„.•.`.; !',•,- 4- ; . ..:-"'.1,'..-..;•" '': ~. character , in ever case, is derived from that of
.-`..,•, - •*•._=-,
~,-,Zt:.r„,,e ;, 41 .0;4 it - -.... '.v... ';- t... --•`, !--..,--,'" - ~-. the age in whi.Wit is manifested. In a warlike
i• . '":i.`... 1 `,.• * .... 4 .;';5.? . ;- ~;•I . f- q ' 4 - ** t,-. "."- -,-. !,' --,... . age and country, it almost necessarily assumes the
..; . . 1, -s et",*„., ts ~ .!, ...-,, ~.i .., e , ~.
teee t t ,t....:''Ji: l- ;. ,'**. i's... t-', -, - ; :- `
ii i' -',;:i s•• - '.` „,-- military character . Such was its manifestation in
v . ... _T... ~;.4`.., , ,- ,: - ;:; II:.,.t"1,:',.! t;•.;.-;.,:•'-: t. A:;•: - .r.r-t,!" 7 .;- the chivalry and crusaile`oof the middle ages; and
''''' S-' l i -4: -';i 7l-, j44 7 "-. 0i.- 1 -- V , ..4.4r ~, , 1 ~,,,,, :v, -;,;.. such is now one of, its mapifestations, in the chiv.
%,7` - i,:: ?.•,A l -, 4 1' 4 'tirti,. t.`4. - te •-,,,,, 1 .,P , 11 , :.-zt•- . 1), - ,.• *
• I ~..,3,
~,,t4 1 ‘ . 4.; . :,,;.: 1;t•1, ni . ,t . a , ,,,r . „ .. t. i.m . : , „;,i. Ix,. , : 4 „,.. : -,
~.. al ry of arms of the preseid day, In a pacific
•- f,, , ,,,,,,,t,i,t4 z,,yr ? q•. , .-.;! ; r1f t ,i,_. ,, v t . : 77y,z?,,-v,.;,,, , ,,,,.. . age, an the contrary, iri.#hich:the intellectual and
4 .7. - 4':. 4 > 4 ',2-_,.' = •-• , k:#1. 1 1.' ,. i5i , ";0;74(747 -0 1 r44!..-..; , ,V -9 ,s , l'Vy - - moral faculties are in thataseendant, and at once
~ -, 4 , :,± i44..44,.1.,,, , ---ref , io „, -,,,-,,,,,,„..-,--;,--,;: t ~. determine the conditiais-.!anct control the move
''a*2,4l- 4 0 , -14..% - 7t-va ~..t.14 ..A.. •.T.l. - '.. society • "• -
- * 4 4 , ...Ai. 1 t , 4 ...-- 4r• , - , t. A—, ..,--.., -: t, , s , ,Zkr,,. - meats of ,it necestanlyossumes the peace
.i-E-,„, „,./ ..,s ki-i._.r sb.,`F'..-t ~...."' 0-. Z ,., :':, - I.' , ' 'v. -- i?'" ' ,•• f I character , exhibitingits •
grandest,and
41;4,5t.7.... , .74 i ; . ,---:---1.,* `..t.-...,- -•;-ft.,:...,,,..4`s:e". e
~,i : _ u phase,
~.. --An r 4 V--Aqs ~.:4 lllof.' 4 , ,V 1 - -'4' , ;.„‘.. N7.,:Z^,„.". ~. the most brilliant display of its powers, in the
0..... " 4 . s' 'ton ~, i,F,ra .. , i1011_.1 1 1,1": ,-, .7 ~,,„, ,"' ,'- , ...,!.. '"'Z' %'/: ..."' ''
' • 1 1 . a t
. . ,. ., 4 -''..;`", '';, :4.,?...,,,hr t. 4:'"' ':ar•k. l . , -4., 1 ‘• ''..ti '.'F'''." - ... - ,==' , ..;,1,4.7-4,..'f . . heroic exercise ot * e mora l and intellect facul
i- ._ - ' -E4 teAti`oi , !L • e-....r.;?;'&tti,_'-.`' , „,' ~.',.- ' ,.;.'1.1 ties.
~..:s. " - -,-*V - -." ""%!.77^, , 7.- ! ers- 1 -!"-- - r rt,i's.•?‘' `.!-' t ,.. ,,,'' . `"A.Vit;t,f r ," - .:-. t ~ ,Froni this brief outline of human nature, hu
• •• • = '''`,"' -' 1 - - ",',:::-1, ; -:,- - ,- '.- - ,:1-`1,,:- - t;•• ,' '.--, .•! - -;,".•S;!e't!- , ..'":"!.'7":7 - man history and human destiny, we are enabled
4 4 '' ~ ., " '•4 4 - `---% P.* to see at a glance , the relative dignity of the two
• • ••:!..,_,NT-' 7 ,;-,,"414..,, • ' - , : 1r,tit , ; . , - ,,. -, : -. ! ,, --: ; ,::, --- - • '-, '-, -:1. ! ,, z_- ,, ., ~ -;--- orders of chtvalry—the military and the moral;
...,•!,.-;'.., ,P' - : 4- r',.fZ.?•:::.!.5.:.: 4 ":',.'.,. - `, -2 :''': ; , ; , - - ',..t ~;,,,.---,••:. -,, ~` the one s exercisin g chiefly, the lowest faculties of
1 1 1;„i,':r.,: • te.. .:4t 1 f,,,!::),: , 1•;, ( .-,.,1 , .,,..,,,:; 2. ",".,...,;,- , ,,,. i. ! - --:., 1 ‘.. -„,?-:,• . .. '....,
~ .;"•=.', ,, mr nature, in the rudest states of society; the
riLP-... 5 ,---Jt,?:-;-7'tr j'f-'-..; - . ; `: , - , - .r: ~,,1., '2='!,-, - .‘ , „:, - ,,.. - .. - 4' .-,- ;;:p'.-,.*- -, ;,, , -;':
..,s her, tasking our moat exalted faculties in the
v.,,,,.!4,. v5 -- 4,p ~ii.r. : ::. .,
„,. : :::-.. 4x ;_ ! „ , i v A 1 k 0 :3; , :- . -':j
~._, , ,:'
.7 :':,i . ,,..:, : -,:,!:.:,,'7,-;', •:' '2%1-'1 cultivated periods • being, in fact, the pro
31 W 46-2 ": - '-',''S - ' ' '''-', , -1 '". "--..,- tr.' ''....'''' ~ l'2 :' '',.7.i ?" "40 ' ... -- - -t :?live pourer, by which t
we advance from the one
' -7 1, - -a-7-x - r4.'l: - -•--4.-,-4-..._,-: -,-.,.. • ..- 1. ~- - _- , -•,'-.;''., .‘ . , ,;,`•, .. 7:i ' - .Anther. - It is a great mistake, to suppose,as
,;zt4.:(c'--•-;- . ...- - - - ,..- , - •-,' :- • --i ,-- • - - • 10, that deeds of arms are ali easentiat part
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111
'_MORAL CHIVALRY:
-AK iST .411L31130Mii1A.311M1...ffla
De!iveral before the Tilghman 'T.iterary Saciely,.an
Friday .Evening, November:l9,-1847.
By John L Wifis, Bag.
-aw -
~-'i'ra•-ok,-1,-:--4"151;',i,1-
of chivalry - 0' 4 % 7 -c - onaidetail,M . its nobler sense—that
of a generots:, behalf of others. In
fact, they wens bat the :boll—the busk—the un
important accident of even. the chivalry of the
Middle ages. So uhriersal, at that period, was the
spirit of war, that Christianity itself, in the per-
Boni of its Popes and Bishops, took arms and
*veered in the field of battle. This circumstance,
common' to both, diirnot, and does not, make deeds
of arms More essential to true chivalry that to
Christianity. The glory of the chivalry of the
middle ages, which fills the past, and shines with
such _dazzling splendor in the literature of the
present, springs almost solely from the degree of
moral chivalry which it possessed. Its nobleness
Of soul—its generosity of spirit—its tender' regard
forithe weak and defenceless—its courage and self
sacrifice in behalf of others,—these were its true
gloiy. It was the moral purpose of his exploits—
and the moral qualities displayed in them, which
alone consecrated the lance and kthe shield—the
nodding plume and the waving banner of the vie
torions knight. PhilOsophically considered, the
chivalry of that day was moral chivalry in the
. chrysalis state—moral chivalry in the disguise of
war. '
Moral chivalry, as we have seen, is a manifea
teflon of the heroic element of our nature, in the
exercise of the intellectual and moral faculties. Its
actuating principles are a love of Truth—a love of
Mankind—and a Conieguent love of Progress. Of
these, in their order :
1. The Love of Truth which actuates the moral
hero is no common love, but a deep and ardent,
soul' absorbing love, embracing the unknown, not
less than the known. The fair hand of a veiled
beauty,prompts not more certainly, in the admirer,
the wish to see the - face, fbreshadowed by the
tut td, giving him no best till he has revealed its
besuties to the light of day, than the love of the
kn wen—in the hero of thOught,leadsto an untiring
seorch for the unknown. Truth is the idol of his
heart—the divinity of his worship, at whose feet
he loves to sit, listening to the music of her voice,
when as the oracle of the Past, the Present and
the Future, she reveals to 'him the wonders of
each—communicating more, of himself, to himself,
and more and more of the world, which we inhab
it, and the mysterbus universe with which we are
surrounde , '. Bat way should I describe it—wto
, can know but those who have felt, the rapture of
thii love Above all other loves, its. object has
this charm—that the beauty of Truth never fades,
but grows more and more beautiful to her lover,
with every new revelation of herself. To signal.
ize this love for truth, men have endured the pri
vations of the dungeon; suffered the tortures of mar
tyrdom, on the rack, and at the stake—and above
all, that worst of martyrdoms—the living martyr
dom of a lite of poverty, persecution and contempt.
Where in the annals of chivalry—where in toe
world of poetry and romance—l ask i -a-can you
find a devotion equal to that inspired by the pas
sionate love of truth? Even in this—truth is strong
er thad fiction,
2 The Love of Mankind is no less strong. It
is an intense, ever active love, manifesting itself
by an-irresistible tendency to the performance of
good works—not that abstract, dreamy, theoreti
cal love of mankind, which deer nothing, trusting
to Providence—but that working love, which puts
its shoulder to the wheel, and moves the world in
every good enterprize. It is the vital element of
christianity itself—begetting the spirit af universal
Brotherhood: teaching the great doctrines of the
natural equaltty of man with man; not in point
of strength, either of body, or of mind; which is
absurd; but in its only true sense; an equality in
point of ail the gteat natural, constitutional rights
of humanity, and re a necessary con-eyience, a
political equality in the detivati‘e institutions of
society, created for the twofold purpose of pro
moting those rights, and developing our higher
nature. Without this ,element, practically illus
trated, I hesitate not to say, that christianity,'so
far as it operates on the condition of society; is a
dead letter, and will be to those, who either teach.
preach, or practice the contrary. This love, true
to itself, is not confined by the narrow limits of
caste or country; creed or color, but like the
ocean, it grasps the world in'its wide 'embrace.
Humanity, is the only condition to its love; suf
fering
- and wrong, the only title to its sympathies:
and the hope of doing good, the only motive, to
enlist its energies.
3. The Love of Progretr springs, as anecessary
consequence, :from the love of truth and the love
of mankind It seeks to transmute into the real,
the ideal, born of the love of truth and the love of
mankind. A discrepancy between the real and
the ideal, is an offence to it—like a discord to the
ear of harmony. In morals and the science of
government, it is the' same feeling in the philan
thropist and statesman, which impels the painter
to labor, day after day—to portray on the canvass,
or the sculptor to embody in the solid marble, his
conceptions of the beautiful—the beauty off the
ideal, in each case, ever leaving them dissatisfied
with the results of their labor, filling them with
new determination to realize their ideals, and as
often leaving them martyrs, at the feet of their
great designs.
Actuated by such principles—the love of truth,
the love of mankind, and the love of progress,—
there is nothing in heaven, Which moral chivalry
dare not emulate—nothing in earth, that concerns
the true tnterests of humanity, which its heroism
dare not attempt.
Its modes of manifestation are, 1. Heroism of
Thought. 2. Heroism of Utterance; and 3. He
4oism of Action.
1 The Heroism of Thought is the heroism of the
intellect. 'The motto emblazoned on its helmet is
a bold one—" Sweatt. IN TEE vroaris or so matt-
TER " At all hazards, it boldly asserts the freedom
of the human mind—the supremac-y Of reason—
its right to investigate every subject, and to reject
as errors, when lound to be so, doctrines which
may have been .regarded as ultimate troths for
centuries. Its first phase consists in holding the
mind ever open to the reception of new truths—
even at the expense' of sacrificing old opinions,
errors, held as truths, and consecrated by the
lapse of ages. The universe, with all our know
ledge of it, is still a mystery. In no department
of truth is our knowledge perfect. The theory, the
dogma, the creed, which serves to explain the
facts, or palliate the cravings - of curiosity, in re
gard to the mysteries of to day, will not do so
to-morrow. To meet the exigency of the case, as
progressive beings, we must have a new theory, a
new dogma, a new creed. But can we have no
fixed knowledge of anything? We may hayefixed
knowledge of particular forts, but we can have
none of any given department of knowledge, un.
til all is known. As things now are, every dis
covery in any department, necessarily modifies, or
enlarges, to a greater or less degree, our know
ledge of every other. This general truth is thus
boldly and strongly expressed by Carlyle—" h is
notable enough, surely, how a Theorem; or a
Spiritual Representation, so we may call it, which
once took in the whole universe, and was com
pletely satisfactory in all parts of it to the highly
discursive, acute intellect of Dante, one of the
greatest in the world,—had in the cpurse of another
century become dubitable to common intellects,
become den-able; and is now, to every one of us,
flatly incredible, obso'e eas Otlina Theorem ! To
Dante, human existence and God's ways with men,
were all well represented by those Malbokes Fur
gatorios ; to Luther, not well. How was this?—
Why could not Dante's catholicism continue? but
Luther's Protestantism must needs follow. Alas,
not/ring will "continue." [Heroes and Hero-worship,
p. 146 ) Conservatism in knowledge, therefore, is
out of the queition. Wherever it exists it is based
on arrogance, and a profound ignorance of the true
nature Ofthings • on a assumption of the
possession 0f.4 knoWledge.
To Such :bigtftted:. ignorance, and supercilious
assumption,',Vhat'Ai sublime reproof is adminis
tered by that ireatifieech of Newton==." I considsr
myself but as a child; gathering pebbles on the
sea shore of the great ocean of truth."' With all
his knowledge, the great unknown lay, still,
stretched out fore him—the unknown, to the
known, asthlioceen to a pebble. Strange as ii
may seem; it-is:neverthlesstrue, that the natural .
presumpuonis in favOr of, rather than against, the
existence of new truths, in the proportion of the
unknowa to the knoWn. The'only rational doubt
that can ever possibly exist in any . case, is as to,
their discovery. Thii doubt,it is the,province. of dui
free truth-seeking minda. to dissipate or: confirm,
by examining
..the OrtioGr, in the spirit,o; free in
quiry; , in the spirit of ignorance that would be
enlightened: ' •
The second phrase'sf intellectual heroism is of
yigher order consisting in the active search for
truth. lioiry-leaded-2 opinions, in politics; in
in science, are•taken by the beard, and the
ME
t , 1 7, :j" ,, , ,, ,,=• , h , ., , ,,.?
purport of truth boldly ,demanded. If they Can
not give it, they are clitAlown' without temarse.
If found woven like cobwebs across. the door
ways of xiew' truths-4as 'l;ll6 r :they . ani.. - isirept
away—and the doors , thrOWn,wide open Well the
world. Wherever truth lends, it. boldly follows,
without regard 'to present consequences; in the
trust and confidence, that all 'truth is 'consistent
with itself; and that all else, in conflict: with it,
is error. As among the noblest examples of it,
behold the labors of Copernicus, Galileo, Coluinbus,
Spurgheim, Fourier, Mesmer, aril the Geologists
of modern - times. All honor to such then! men
who dare to think in opposition to the past—to
exercise the highest faculties of rational beings,
and brave the world in defence of their , opinions,
that the 'boundaries of knowledge may he extend
ed. All honor to those—who, in their -search for
truth, have buried themselves alive •among the
mouldy records of the past ;- in the tor;lss and py
ramids of Egypt, to solve the riddle of Egyptian
history ; in laboratories, to analyze the elements
of !rotor; in hospitals and di :ecting room', in
researches of physiology
,andrinatumy,; who have
braved the terrors of the iceberg, of: polar seas
snows ‘;' - in voyages of Arctic and Antarctic disco,.
ery ; who have scaled mountains; traversed plains
and penetrated even the depths of the earth, to
' read on its stony tablets, the unerring records of
its progress or !formation. Alt honor to those
who have worn themselves out from age to age,
in vigils by day and by nigh; exploring the length
and breadth, the highth and depth of the universe,
humiliating human pride by the results of their
discoveries; showing us ourselves, as animalcule'
in a drop of water, this little earth , the centre
pointsof the vast circle of the universe, disclosed
by the microscpe on the one hand, and the tele
scope on the other. These, and such as these, are
the truf heroes of Humanity; the pioneers, ever
in advance, preparing the way,—the vang uard of
Progress, explorink,with brave heart, to th spirit.
stirring notes of the bugle of Hope, the region of
the unknown, and sending back couriers'with in
telligence to guide the main body in their march.
2d. lirraism of Utteranrc.—The second form of
its manifestation, is the Heroism of Utterance, in
the propagation of truth. It is not enough' that
truths be discovered. They must be made known
They must be proclaimed to the world, however
unwelcome, however revolutionary or incendiary
They must be incorporated with the -thought and
sentiment of the people. They must , be woven
into the web of
; public opinion, before 'they can
produce their legitimate effects. This is the work
of the heroism bf utterance ; the work of the
author. the editor, the orator, the poet, the preach.
er—all of whom may attain the highest honors of
this species of heroism. To think and to speak
are one with it—it knows no concealm,ents. Its
creed is thus written, in power, by an American
poet :
" He who has the truth, and krepi it,
Keeps what not to him belongs,
But performs a selfish action,
That his fellow-mortal wrongs:.
Bold in speech, and bold in action,
Be forever ! Time will test,
Of the free souled and the slavisb,_.:
Which fulfils life's mission best, -
" Be thou like the noble pncient--...
Scorn the threat that bids.thee fear.
Speak ! No matter what' betide thee;
Let them strike, hut make them hear.
" Be thou like the first Apostles—w. -
Be thou like heroic Paul;
If a free thought sesk expression,.
Speak it boldly! - Speak it QUI,
" Face thine enemies—accusers;
Scorn the prisons, rack or roll; J
And, If then bast Titirru to utter,
Sperikl and leave the rest to God."
flow shall I express my admiration ofsuch heroism?
Ajax defying the lightning, has been a favorite
them, with poets, painters andssculptors, for ages
—but what it it 7--Empty T,ravado, compared
with the heroism, the grandeur of soul, displayed
by him, who, forgetting self, and the • interests of
the hour. boldly utters.unwelcome truths, and de
fies the world in their, assertion. The glory of
the prophet, clusters . round his head, and the
prophet's fate, present and future, is his. The
timeserver; the demagogue of every hue
those creatures of the hour; those minions of the
changing moon : those liveriedhunts men of
conservatism, are soon on his track,• sounding the
born of denunciation; and soon the whole pack,
"mongrel, 'puppy, whelp and bound, and curs of
low degree," are in lull cry at his heels. The noble
victim of their blind hate, is hunted to the death,
fighting with his face to be foe, against fearful
odds—or driven, as it may be, for safety; into the
dens and caverns of the earth. But when, in the
march of progress, the mass of the. people come
and occupy the positon which he before :;occupied
—to see as he saw—they see, to their; sorrow.
that be was their friend—not their enemy—a
martyr to his love of truth, which he , cou/d not
but utter. There are ignominy and shame trans
muted into glory, by the alchemy .3f popular
justice. Then, is built the tomb of the--Prophet;
then is garnished the sepulcher of thejtighteous !
Thus, the Heroes of future ages are often the felons
of their own, while their tombs, like mite stones,
mark distances on the highway - of Progress.
But why attempt to express in words;-the moral
grandeur of the Hero of Utterance? Let tia turn
from this:melancholy view of the subject, and take
one of the moat successful examples of this species
of heroism—and at the same time one of the most
brilliant passages in modern history—the life of
Luther—especially his appearance before the Diet
of Worms. It is. perfezt in all' its parts. The
hour had come for heroism. A -great principle
was to be asserted. The man was there to do it.
Summoned to appear before that august tribunal,
the intrepid monk, disregard the, warning voice:of
friendship, and sets out upon his journey. He is
again warned, at the gate of the city, not to enter
it. But he is inflexible. Go tell your 'masters,
that if there were as many devils, at Worms, as
there are tiles on the roofs-of the houses, I would
enter it." As he approaches the town, Hall, in
which the Diet is convened, the Chivaly of Arms
itself, in the person of an old and valiant.knight of
the Empire, lays its honors at his feet and: confess
es its inferiority. That old general touches him
on the shoulder, as if to confer on him the. accolade
of his higher order of Chivalry, and shaking his
head, blanched in many battles says to him:—
"My poor monk—my poor monk! Than bast a
march and a struggle to go through,auch as neith
er I, nor many. other captains have seen the like
of, in our most bloody battles. But if-thy cause
be just, and thdu art sure of it—go forward, in
God's name, an'd fear nothing," What-it confes
sion from the lips of War! He enters the Hall,
his lire resting on his tongue. Undaudted by all,
that would awe any but a moral hero of the high
est order, -he deliberately vindicates his faith, and
assuming a position of the loftiest moral grandeur,
announces his ultimatum:— ,, I neither. cannor
will retract any thing. Here I stand. I can Say no
more.—God help met" That reply shook empires.
Well might the Chivaley of Arms confess its in
feriority to such heroism. Nothing higher can be
said of it, that it fully equal, Milton's sublime
conception of it— .
So spake the seraph, Atxliel, faithful found
Among the faithless, faithful only be, '•
Among innumerable false, unmoved,
Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,
His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal, -
Nor number, nor example with him wrought,
To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind,
Though single, from among them forth he passed,
Long way, through hostile scorn, which he lfustained
Superior, nor of violence feared aught,
And with retorted scorn, his back he turned -
On those proud towers, to swift destruction doomed.
(Paradise Los(, Book 5 close.)
3. The Heroism ol ..detion.—Nor is it enough tha
truths be made known. Knowledge,iike faith
without works, is dead. , Mankind are interested
not merely in the knowledge, but in the enjoyment
of the practical advantages of every with. As
opinions progress, the institutions of society mut
and will keep pace with them. The ideal must
be transmuted into,the:real.'rhe intangible thought,
at whatever cost, must be converted into the prac
tical fact. Hence, .the necessity for changes,'re
fOrmations, and even revolutions, in the -institu
tions of society. But these changes, withriut any
regard to their merits, or necessity, always do and
always will encounter firm and determined 'op
position from conservatism in every shape—from
the conservatism of veneration, crying ouf,in 'leen
humility ~ shall we attempt to be wiser , dam our,
falhers?"—;from the conservatism of timidity,-ex
. ,
clattniug, , Wlexperimenta rweriangerous—let
11.1tailitAlm,-,iiitk
enough alone • " , -,--froto the'ceutratism of self
interest, which,thaeorDemetrias and the
shrine. makers of Ephesue, would oppose the intro
duction"of the worship of the true. God himself, if
it , eendangered the craft," concealing its base
purpose under the hypocritical cry "Great is Di•
ens of the Ephesians;"—and last, not least, from
th4t bigoted in6ilefiti in the consistency of all truth
withJtself—which,. by the way, is the worst form
of infidelity that now curses the earth. Such are
the obstacles in the way of progressive change.—
These, it is the province of the fleroisnnof action
to overcame. Accordingly, the motto emblazing on
its ample shield, is "Progress." They be only
overcome by self sacrifice. -But the price is not
too great. "Et uno disce opines." Deeply im.
bued with this love of progress, and forseeing ae
with the gift of prophecy, the glorious destiny of
the race, the moral hero turns a deaf ear to the at
luremepts of pleasure, to the 'temptations of am.
bition, and to the warning voices of time serving
friends. He gazes at the glorious prospect of truth
triumphant, until his love for it strengthens into
a self-sacrificing faitb. Kneeling in the solitude of
his chamber, or, it may be, in some retired spot,
amid the stillness of evening, with the flaming
stars of heaven above him for witnesses, he con
secrates himself to the work of progress—pouring
out his soul in the fervent prayer, that at whatever
cost. he may have the courage to dare, and the will
to conquer all difficulties—the fidelity to withstand
all the temptationthe faith and hope that beget
endurance—and. the patience to wait with coefi.,
dence in - the result—asking no reward for his toils'
and trials, but the consciousness of having cOn•
tributed to make the world better—cherishing,
perhaps, the distant hope, that in after years, when
the world comes to enumerate its benefactors, it
may point to him with grateful pride, and say,—
"There, indeed, was a hero." • Raising from his
devotion, thus prepared, , he rushes into the field to
fight—"not against flesh and blood—but against
principalities—against powers--against the rulers
of the darkness of this world—against spiritual
wickedness in high places: (Ephesians ch. 6, v.
12.) A fight, not the phrenzy of the moment, as
in military chivalry, with the world at his back,
cheering him on„" and when the burly burlys done
—the battle's lost and won," ready to crown the
conquering hero with the laurels of victory ;—but,
On the contrary, a life-long contest with the world
itself, one long• Contended act of self sacrifice, in
the hope of future good, with only the reward of
fnture glory. This difference between military and
moral chivalry, is thus perfectly drawn by Bryant
in his poem of tho Battle field, one of the bright,
est gems of American Literature :
soon rested those who fought: but thou
Who minglest in the harder strife
For truths which men revere not now,
Thy warfare only ends with life.
A friendless warfare! lingering long
Through weary day and weary year,
A wild and many weaponed throng
Hang on thy front, and flank and rear.
yet nerve thy spirit to the proof,
And flinch not at thy chosen lot,
The timid , good may stand aloof,
The sage may frown—let faint thou not
Nor-heed the shaft too surely cast.
The hissing stinging bolt of scorn ;
For with thy side shall dwell at last,
The victory of endurance born.
Truth crusheeto eartkwill rise again,
.The eternal years of God's are her's;
But Error, wounded;writhes in pain,
And dies among his worshippers.
Yea, though thou lie upon the dust,
WhPn they who helped thee, flee in fear,
Die full of hope and manly trust,
Like. those who fell in battle here.
Another hand thy sword shall wield,
Another hand the standard wave, •
Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed
, The blast.of triumph o'er thy grave.''
Such is the chivalry of moral action. Its gran
dest illustrations are seen in the social and politi
cal roforms, and in the various schemes of world.
wide philanthrophy which characterize our age.—
To prove the transcendent glory of its peacelulacon,
quests, need I do more than point to the names of
Howard, Clarkson, Fry, Wilberforce, Cebden-and
O'Connell Heroes, whose victories were the tri
umphs of Humanity twice blessed, blessing alike
the victors and the-vanished.
Ts sum- it all up, in one view,- What, then, is
Moral Chivalry? The manifestation of the heroic
element of our nature, in the exercise of the
intellectual and moral faculties—its actuating
principles, the love of truth, the love of mankind,
and the love of progress—its modes of manifesta
tion, heroism of utterance in the propagation„ and
heroism of action in the realization of great
truths—a system perfe:t in all its part, constitu
ting the magnificent moral machinery of devel
opement and progress by which the animal nature
of man is subdued, and his intellectual and moral
nature enthrone& iu society and the government
of the werld. It is not celestial, only because it is
practised on earth.
With this exposition of its nature before veu,
would I not insult your intelligence, by instituting
any labored comparison between military and mor
al chivalry, to thiw the at:priority of the latter?—
Is it not enough, to point to the one as the rieh and
luscious fruit, slowly ripened amid the storm and
sunshine in the garden of Peace ? to the other, as
a rank and poisonous weed, shot up from the hot
bed of War? Is it riot palpable from the differ.
ent nature of the faculties'exercised—from the dif-,
ferent stages of civiliiationinwhich they Aourish
from the different motives of their heroes, and the
different effects of their, labors on the world—the
one ennobling and advancing—The other, degrading
1 and retarding mankind in their efforts to realize the
beau ideal of Human Perfection and Human Hap.
piness? War—all war in which military glory
has been, , or may be, acquired, which is it? aye
with all its pride and pomp, and circumstance—
=what is it morally? A. relapse into barbarism,
for the time being, authorized bylaw; irrational
as it is horrible—its very horrors intensified by. the
refinements of the civilization which it shocks. It
must be confessed.however, that there was a time
when war and duelling—for they both)noceed upon
the same principle—were comparatively rational,
and even justified by a savage necessity. Men„at
that, period believed that the Deity directly inter
fered in human affairs, and espoused the cause of
the right, in every quarrel, whether of nations or
of individuals. But now, since reason- and exile.
rience have demonstrated .the folly and 'falsity of
such a belief;tind the enlightenment of the age has
'led to the alines% universal cendemnation,and ab
olition of duelling among civilized people, what, I
ask again, is war—this elder brother of duelling ?
A remnant of barbarism, lingering among us, with•
out even the sertiblance of reason or necessity tojus
tify it: -notwithstanding all the modern ameliora
tions of its bloody coile, sti:l a fierce display of the
animal nature of man, roused into terrible and des
tructive activity, by' the worst of human passions;
at best, as tiger wreathed with roses ; a mode of trial
among nations, by, which the weaker pa . rty, with-
Out regard to considerations of right, must alWays
lose; a wicked canonization, by public law, of the
animal principle, that might 'tan make a right; a
standing reproach to the intellect, not less than to
the morals of the age ; an open admission-that its
intellectual resources are unequal to. the task of
devising a plan by which the disputes of nations,
like those of individuals, may be settled, even in
the last resort, by an- appeal to reason: in enormi
ty, existing by the inconsistent acknowledgement,
that while duelling is wrong, war is right—that
wrong,
.multiplied a thousand times, becomes right;
and the cnminat of the duel, the hero of the bat--
tle. Su:h is the field in which the laurels of mil
itary glory-are gathered, - Who would not wish to,
wear them 1 Who would not be a savage, if he I
could, to grow immortal as he killed, men, women
and children, and reared his pile of grinning sculls
toward heaven?
Military glory . , it must also be confessed, we
view differently, at different times—bit not more
differently than the world itself. It is all a ques
tion of light—of civilization—of humanity, or
animalism. Well do I remember my own feel•
ings—the enthusiasm with Which I read the Hie
tory of Rome, when a boy, in College. I would
read it ova' and, over with ever increabing
delight, and as I grew familiar with thestory, such
war the strength of my love for;war, that I would
skip the reign of Numa—a reign of peace, without
a battle—and hurry on in hot haste to_the reign of
Tullius Hostilius '• frit. then - I had war, all the time.
*0 When I was a child, I understood as a child,
thought as a child; but when I became 'a map, I
put away childish things.''-1 Cor., ch. 13, v. 11.
MS
ISIZEIS
. .
1111
For the state of mk.,.fv4llngr.''then, I accuse my
animal nature—l plead
.my ignorance. But, for
that Ignorance I : impeach History-4 impeach
Oratory==l impeach.: Rornance, Music, Painting,
Poetry, and-Statuary'; all of which, conscionily or
unconsciously, have , lent their charms to render
war atir.ctive--to make the ugly rnonster lovely.
In the nameof humanity, I accuse the authors of
them all, ot a breach• of trust; of baying prosti
tuted their highest gifts to the basest purpcise; of
having thus leagued together, by their away over
human passions, in one grand conspiracy against
Human Progress,
2. The age in which we live, is peculiar. it
will not be necessary to determine the'precise pe.
riod in the scale of human history, at which what
is now balled the Civilized world has arrived.
But In view of 'all the facts, it would require con
siderable boldness, and be' venturing an opiniO4
which would' not stand the test of future revision,
that it has much more than emerged from the
Animal into the Animal-Intellectual period; in
which, as we have seen, the animal, and the intel
lectual and moral . natures hold a divided sway.
We are ilia transition state. Progress is impressed
upon every thing. I“ Go-ahead " is the .motto.
Bevolutions are going on, silently, but not the less
certainly, in morals-tin religion—in politics—in
science, and the mechanic arts. Time-honored
opinions and institutions are tottering to their fall.
Man has yet to be redeemed from the bondage of
his animal nature. In this work, much has been
done. The trammels of ignorance and supersti
tion have yet to be wholly thrown off—our intel
cud and moral natures, still further developed—
War and slavery overtbrown—Crime and the an.
ta. , oniarns of our social organizations remedied;
Reason and Love enthroned on the government of
the world, and the great doctrines of Human
Rights and Human Brotherhood, practically illus
trated and expounded by the r institutions of socie
ty. To accomplisicall this, or even to approxi
mate towards it, calls for the grandest efforts of
Moral Chivalry—but for heroism of utterance and
heroism of action, more than heroism of thought.
The general principles in the majority of cases
ere secretly admitted; but the difficulty is to get
men to declare their adhesion to them—and still
more, to ad upon them. If the truth was only
known, there is latent thought and moral power
enough, dormant in society, to revolutionize the
world on all these subjects. But there is not
Moral Chivalry enough to utter the secret thoughts
I of the intellectual world—much less to organize
them; consequently they remain powerless, and
in regard to them, the world still plays the slug
gard.
Bat whatever may be the necestity for the
practice of moral chivalry in the world at large
in this age—there is a special oac-ssity for it in
this country, growing out of our origin, our his
tory, and our destiny. It is a remarkable fact,
which seems to have escaped notice, that every
important era of our. history, his been signalized
by some brilliant display. of moral chivalry. As
an American product, we see it germinating, in the
discovery of the continent by Columbus,—the dis
covery itself, a magnificent illustration of the
trinity of moral chivalry—the heroism of thought,
the heroism of utterance, and the heroism.of ac
tion—all in one. We see it budding in the settle
ment of our country by the Pilgrim Fathers, and
the followers of Penn and Lord Baltimore.
" Not as the conqueror comes,
They, the true hearted, come,
Not with the roll of the stirring drums,
And the trumpet that sings of falai.
Not as the flying come,
In silence and in fear—
They
shook the depths of the desert's gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer.
Amidst the storm they sang,
And the stars heard and the sea, [rang,
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods
To the anthems of the free." -
Again: we see it blooming in the assertian or our
National Independence, and the proclamation to
the world, of the ,equal rights of man, and the
true principles of human government, by the sign
ers of the Declaration of Independence—made
good, by the arms 'of the Revolution, under the
leadesship.of Washington, justly regarde by the
world as a moral, rather than a military hero. Our
country, thus discovered, thus settled, its freedom
and independence ]thus asserted and maintained,
we look to the fair fruit of moral Chivaly, in the
institutions here ostablished, for fruit worthy of
the promise of its bud and its bloom: In this matter
let us not deceive Ourselves. It is vain td attempt
to rival the old word in the glory of arms.--There
it had its Origin, and there it has had its grandest
illustrations, The glory of the conquests of Alex.
ander, Ca ser and Napoledn—such as it is—all be.
longs to the old world. It is folly Wattempt to
surpass it. Besides, the time has gone by, for such
rivalry. Even if It were possible; the attempt is
foreign, both to the nature and the spirit of our in
stitutions If, therefore, as Americans, we wish
to be the masters of true glory, we must seek for
it in other directiOns; in the exercise of other and
higher faculties ; in conformity to the new spirit
of the age; and, is we have seen, in the fulfil
ment of the glorious destiny,indicated in our past
history, and required as the complement of its
moral unity. In such an enterprise,:moral
chival
ry alone, opens wide its field before us and invites
us to enter. In its wnrld wide arena, we have
unparralleled' adventages above all others, if we
will but use thenn. By the organic- . structure of',
our goeetoment,Treedom of Thought;Freedom of
Utterance, - and Freedom of Actioniire guaranteed
to every citizen. Theoretically we enjoy them
all. Practically, :we do not. Intellectually and
morally, we are still slavei.
" He is the Freeman, whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves beside." ,
There is a world of thought and feeling among
us, undeveloped, unuttered and unknown. If any
one, braver than the rest, or forced by extremity
of circumstances, happens to utter the true oracles
of his soul-on any subject, contrary to established
opinions, there liras much consternation, as much
shrinking among cowardly mass,—equally in
terested in iheir assertion—as in the Parish Pobr-
House, when little Oliver Twist—half starved—
had the courage to ask for "more." The world,
at the heels of ita conservative leaders, soon obeys
their Mandate and revenges his audacity by the
punishment of proscription.
But if there be any advantage in the free form
of government—ariy supremacy in it over others
—it is necessary(ithat these principles should be
exercised; not only to secure their existence, but
also, the safety and' preservation OT the govern
ment. • Without their use, their existence is merely
nominal, and the government itself, falling into
corrupt halids. must soon tumble' into.ruins.
Washington has wisely said: " In profiortion as the
structure of a government gives force 'to public
opinion—it should be enlightened." But in order
to create this enlightened public opinion; it is not
enough, that the people should be tamely educated
in the formulas of the Past. ' It is necessary, in
addition;that every citizen should assume and ex
ercise for himself, th'e high prerogative of individ
uality,—that, as an individual man, availing him=
self of the lights of the past and the present, he
should think freely, utter boldly, and act heroi
cally, in the affairs of the . present. Ever 'one
should obey the solemn mandate in the Ps Im.of
Life— •
"In the world's broad field of. battle,
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb ariven•cattle,
Be a Rana in the strife."
In this course there is this security, that, in pro
portion as the number of independent thinker!' is
increased, in the same proportion is the man of
knowledge likely to be increased, our confidence
strengthened in the correctness of their conclu
sions, and government by the people fully carried
out. But inasmuch as all cannot be expected' to
exercise these high privileges r sind mann will
have leaders, there is a strong . , necessity arising
from this fact, that the public men of this country
should be deeply imbued with the spirit of Moral
chivalry, and formed by a study of its best infidels.
What other security can we have, that the people,
whom they contml, will not be misled? 14 also,
as in our day-dreams we fondly:anticipate, the
leadership of the world is to be committed to
to our hands, this office creates a still stronger
necessity, that our public men should' be' moral
heroes ef the highest order. On this subject, a
warning.voice corneisto us from the other aide of
the Atlantio—uttered by a.writer on International
Law, in 1839, the truth of which has:acquired
additional-strength with the lapse of every year
and which we may not wisely disregardr "Recent
events," sayslie, "make it doubtful, how far just
MI
.' t
EMU
.
~ ! ..i1, . ;:, ; .1i-;;.5?,.,t, . v
}icr
conduct May a expected from America in her
international relations; not that thereare not high
minded and highsrincfpled men in the American
legislature end administration; but that the power
of the country it in the hands of a class so far
beldw that which constitutes the intelligence of
the country, that, it may be feared, that what might
have been the noble tone of a free nation, will, in
any emergency, be over borne by the clamor of a
popolam, flattered and influenced by demagogues;
and the public mint in America, with a few noble
exceptions, seem less inclined to lead t h an to follow,
the opinion of the multitude." (Manning's Law
of Nations, Book, 2: ch. 5. p. 92.)
Is there any grander sight under heaven, than to
see a great man, Whether right or wrong, it mat
ters not e —standing up in the face of day, before
high heaven and the august tribunal of the world,
uttering the honest convictions of his soul, whether
in favor or • out of favor, endeavoring to impress
them upon otheo ; standing, like a lighthouse on
a rock Mile ocean, holding out his light amid the
storm, regardlrss 'of the angry waves that dash
around him. On the contrary, is there any thing
more disgusting, more loathsome, more intempti•
ble,
than to see aigreat man, great by nature, great
by education, great even by position—rising and
falling, like . a mighty ship with the tides of 'the
ocean; shrinking, from an utterance of ba honest
opinions, on subjects of great moment, cringing
before his more-4-cortrageous inferiors, betraying
the high trust which Gat and nature, his r country
and the welfare of humanity, had committed to
his charge? There are such men,—aye, in this
country, giants in intellect, but tiounds in courage
—mert who, in any just , cause, have but to take
the fielin earner, to insure a victory—who never
theless pusillanimously shrink from the perfor
mance I their duty—easing theirconsciences with
the nostrums of la petty policy, and a cowardly
expediency, hoping fora more convenient season,
and justifying thMr treachery by suggesting the
danger of rashneiis and misguided zeal. The true
Wiry, as well as the truecnurage. in such cases, is
to take the bull by the' horns. at. once—to theow
yourself on the truth and justice of your cause,
and make it sustain you.
In our own coimtry, much remains to be done
to fulfil the measure of its glory. It is a gloat
mistake to•believe, as demagogues would have us,
that our institutions are perfect—that their glory
is complete—that our fathers did all, and that we
have nothiipg to do, but to enjoy the fruits of their
labors. Such a supposition, while it dexiades our
selves, dishonors 'the al nnuryof the mi;hy
They merely sketch -A the great design—find the
foundations and irearA the. Main pi I rs• of the
Temple of our. Freedom TLey - left it for us to
rear the rest, and erect upon them a magnlcnit
entablature, whiUh should be worthy of the - gran
deur of the Pei estA and the columns which they left
us. Where amoni us , I ask, are the liberty and equal
ity of titan fully exemplified? Where a is our hero
ism of thought—ioux heroism of utteranee—of the
tongue, the pen, The press—whera.ohe heroism of
moral action, andong our public men—which, like
the leap of Cortina, plunges into the gulf for the
safety of the Republic ? ,Where the arts and sci
ence worthy of a great nation? Where the liters;
ture inhaling, and breathing the spirit of our free
institutions--. the thoughts that breathe and woids
that burn" with the enthiisiasm of liberty?'Ter
minating, it is true, but no where tut! grown—as
yet, inferior to the products of the Moral Chival
ry of the 014 World. , A buiniliating truth, which
we seldom hear! buta truth - which brings not
despair; on the Fontrary, new energy and deter
mination to the true American—to contribute his
exertions to complete the structure-of our freedorri
and our glory, according to the most magnificent
design of , our father. • .• •
Such is the fieid for moral chivalry, spread out
before us, as Actiericans--presentingopportunities
never before enjoyed, and holding forth patriotic
lnducemenis, of no ordinary &tweeter, for the
grandest display of moral chivalry, which the
world has ever seen
Fellow-Member.: My task is riot yet done. I
came not here to n ght, for tue p4tty purposerof
tossing a rocket' in theair, to surpize you with
the ropidity and:briffiency of its ascent, nor yet'
to dazzle you With its expiring splendors; as it
bursts on the stillness of the evening, and is seen
and heard of notrtnre. Such a purpose would be,
unworthy of us all. On• the contrary I came to
do good tervice,if I might be able, in the cause
of. my country end the world; to make this hour
memorable -en the lives of each ane' of us; to
strike the first feeble blow, and and ask you to
atrke the rest,-to break the spell 'of military glory,
which now , threatens to .bind us hand and foot,
and lay us at thefeet of the conquerer ; to con
convince. you, by-directin g your attention to the
subject, and leaving you to your own reflections,
that there is, a higher order of. Chivalry than that
of arms —*he geWgaw of the' the Past—a Chivalry
of the moral and intellectual faculties; which the
scholars of the 'scholars of the age, especially,
are bound to eittulate a Chivalry, of every day
life, whichtmay; be exercised in the most ordinary,
as well as On the grandest occasions of human
concernment: to win , you. to a love of it--
not by words of mine—but by it display
of its own transcendent beauty and excellence,
to convince yoOliat there is not one erns who may
not be a greater hero in the truest scnae of
the *ord, than :the most successful. warrior in
the simple aots,of thinking, speaking, and acting
well, our parts, is men of this age and country; and
as the just conclesion of the whole, to beseech you,
in view of the glorious destiny of your country and
the world; in view of all thathaa been done,and still
more in view'cifall that remains to be done, to dedi
cate _yourselvea---here—to-nightin this mag
nificent Hall, to the• cause of Human 'Progress
—tied, your Country, and, the World—all in one
—and now—hero—on this rallying,ground 'of the
Scholar to take up the no e arms ot moral chival
ry, and rush to meet its cmies. Bat it may be
said, thelage of chivalry is go e! Such indeed was
the eloquent lament—the des firing cry of Burke,
at the cloaSofthe eighteenth cen ry. But believe
it no. I preac h you a more hope -gospel.--It has
just begun. ..Mesli of the chivalry of arms has io
deed, passed away. Thang God for it. W.:4ld
that it:were all gone! But the age of moral Chival
ry succeeds it. ;Military and moral chiral, are an
tagonistical —in an inverse proportion to each oth
er lire night and day: as the one Wanes, the other
waxes, with an ever inceasing glory, such as the
world has never witnessed. It wah indeed, the
fortune of the Past to see and': hsar the Herald of
this new era—the great Exemplar . and Founder of
this new order •of chivalry.
• " Like Maias''son he stoat (filled
And shook his plumes, that - heavenly fragrance
The circuit wiile."—paradiaeldr, B. 5, 285.
K PEACE or EATLTU-43001:1 IVILL ao xes," was
the blast from his trumpet; a 'strain, too foreign
to the ears of the.war dog conservators of that
day, to be heard with pleasure, or even tolerated.
Behold the cross!'But in the progress bithe race,
it is ours to behold the dawn of that era, which it
was his to announce • • to see it streaking the East
with the earliest light of morning—soon--if we
are but true to ourselves,to burst on the world with
the gorgeoue splendors of sun-rise. -
THANKSGIVING SUPPER
meeting of gentlemen trom,the New Enklanl
States, was held on Monday evening, at W. L.
Caldwell's, when Dr. W. BACHOP was appointed
chairman, and E. A. Aricswolivn, Secretary.
It was then resolved that we have' supper on
the evening of the 25th, and that a Committee be
appointed to make the necessary arrangements.—
Messrs. C. B. M. Smith,'2L. Wilmarth, R. H, Pal
mer, Wm. S. Caldwell, E.: A. Ainsworth, and Benj.
H. Hersey,. were appointed that committee to re
po tt through the papers Where said supper was to
be held. • W. BACHOP, Chairmen.
E. S. Ainswcirth, Sec.
The Committee vvould announce that the supper
will be giken on Thanksgiving Evening, at 8 o'-
Clock, at the St.` Charles Hotel. -
* Tickets can be procured at the store of Wm. S.
Caldwell, opposite the i'ost office, on 3d at. It is
desired that every New Englander should do so at
nov2s
CHOICE old Amontillado Sherr y, ine, "Pale?
the finest Sherry to be obtaitted,lor sale by this
case or single bottle, at the . wine store of
novll JACOB WEAVER.
POTASH -3 Casks, for sale by
novls • • SMITH & SINCLAIR.
PRIINES—,2OJars fresh Bordeaux • for sele by
' J. D. WILLIAMS,
novls ' 110 Wood
TUST RECEIVED, at 62 blarket at., A. A: MA
-0 SON 4. Co., one more ease of those very'cheap
Alpacenv at I . 2}e. per yard. , ' novl3
0 BALES Saab Liquorice itemt, for sale by
4f. nov24 J . %MORGAN.
•
"_ ' '
ecljellaitil I/flaming post
L. , Nairn , LV/LOR 4.LIfD P 11071111701.
'ITTSOURGH,
THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEBIBER.2S, 1847.
co. E. W. - Casa, United States Newspaper
Agency, Sun Buildings. N. E. corner of Tbird and
Dock, and 940 N. Fourth street—is our 'Only int
tborised agent in • Pbiladelpiada.
No paper will be issued from this otilei
to-morrow:
A Day for ThankogiVilig.
This is the day which the People of this ,
Commonwealth, without respect to their
political or their religious sentiments; have
been requested, by our w ortliy Governor,
to set apart as -a day on which to return
thanks to the Giver . of All Good, for , the
many mercies which we, as a People, en
joy. And bow aPpropriate a time in our
history, how, suitable to the season, for such'
a demonstration! Pendsylvania is enjoy
ing, in all her great interests of agricul 7
to re, commerce and manufactures, a degree
of prosperitY hitherto without a..parallel.
No internal broils disturb the harmony -of
ler citizens—Peace sits smiling upon their
Nimes, and Plenty blesses their
.hearth
stone& Health and Ilappinesi &re ibp lot
of her people. Our glorious Union is still
ungroken—nay, stronger and more Mighty,
from the accumulation of years around it,
and of interests eentered in it. The!stars
and stripes' wave : Upon . every sea, and are
eve
fanned byevery iireize visiting our earth;
mid whether as &minister „of comfort and
consolation to the sorrow-stricken sons and
daughters of want, or as a herald of re
dress for national wrongs ? our glorious
banner is honored by the world.,
All our sister
_States are prospering.
The affairs or the country are in a ficurish
lug conditicn; and although "grim visaged
War" has called from their homei thcitis
ands of her sons, and has sent. many to a
happier sphere,—still have we great cause
for thankfulness, to Him who has been to'
us as a "pillar of cloud by day, and a pit
lar of fire by night." If -War has taken
from us those, who were dear, let us fer
vently thank Hum that they were permit
ted to die for their country; and fordhose ,
who remain, we are surely , thankful, that
they are still spared to serve that country.
The season is one for thankfulness. Our
crops are all garnered; and the sowing
time is past. The husbandman now only
waits for the blessing of Heaven upon the
young ‘shoet, that shall bring forth the
grain; and Commerce with her swelling
sails, • and Manufactures with her mighty
engines, wait on the labors of the husband
Therefore, "whether we oat, or
whether we drink, or whatsoever we do,
let us in all things give thanks!"
We learn from the Detroit Free. Press, of tits
20th, that a cargo of 44 tons of native Copper s for
the Boston and Pittsburgh Company, are on lhe
way to this city to be smelted. Tbis Comitaiiy
has shipped this season 490 tons of Copper, whieli
average's 80 per cent, and is sold in Boston-et 16k
ets., per pound of copper,the purcleser smelting it
at hii own expense. The nett proceeds of this oar
will amount to about $115,060 and the expense Of
working the mine :fora year are just about pox%
leaving for dividend this year $65,000.
Unroof Rind*
~.
We find file folbwing article in the Cincinnati
Signal otthe 20th inst
F. IL Sistrrix..—The suggestion of a Democrat
ic paper, in favor, of this distinguishesl gentleman,
for the next Presidency,- tinny prove - more, signifl.
cant than a transient bubble of preference. - No
Man is more popular in Pennsylvania, than the
Governor; and the recent political result in that
State may- - be regarded as a Well deserved tribute' -
to one of the truest rePublicans in the Union. - If
Pennsylvania ihMild ask a candidate from the Dem
ocratic Convention, with the requisite unanimity,
for the purpose of honoring, the integrity of Girt:
Shunk; a new face might be, put upon the political
world. The changes of the last twelve months
have been more remarkable than this wouldpicrife:
Ilichpganleleiation in Collgreu.
The followfoi remarks nrrelation - to the Michto
ganDelegation in congress,4e copy from the Di;
truit Free Proms:
Hons. Ltwts Casa and &Pattie Fames!, of the.
U. S. enate, and the Hon: Honumr MeCiarmalm
of the House of Representatives, left for Washing
tori.. Hon. K. S. Ihrronast. left some days ago;
Hon. C. F. STLCIAZT Will WOO follow.
- The above named gentlemen comprise the Michi
gan delegation in the Congress of the U. States, and,
In Point of talent and business capacity, will corr.
pare most favorably with any . State in the Unioti.
Their constituents are justly, proud of them:
Lewis Cass, one of the Senators of the U. S. from
this State, is known by rePtitation to the whole
civilized world. As a statesman, he has few equals,
and no superiors; as a:democratic republican; he
has never been jound iianting. He enjoyed the
confidence of Thomas literson, of James Madison;
of Andrew Jackson, and Martin Vaißuren. Be
now has the confidence ot ih rr e President, and' 1h •
democratic party of the whole Union. Be deserves
it and will never abuse it.
A Gra.—The following is extracted from
article which appeared soup time since in the IJ. I
sited States Gazette. The article has,,hy,ibmst i
been attributed to Josxru R CH*DDL2III, Esq.; but t
whoever may have been the writer, be knows how
to appreciate the value of properly cultivaterisoeial:l
and family relations:
"-The sunlight that follows a shipwreck-,is not'
less beautiful, though it shines upon the rentriahts
of.the broken bark; what issaved is so ranch nisreti.
precious than that which hashes n lost: • z
, !The domestic circle is always too small to-sl-
low of rupture; it is always too, precious to make
excusable any neglect to, prevent or to heal distur.- -
'barters. There are enough. to minister,by hints and . .
reports, to domestic unkindness; and, unfortunate
ly; the best, under such circumstances, are much
prone to mistake, and thus misrepresent motive q!.
and trifles, with no direct object, are magnified in='`
to mountains of unintenticnal offence. It is the
same in social life. Let "us guard against it. Dili.
cate'relations are like the polish of costly cutlery;
dampness corrodes, and the rust, though removed,-
leaveca spot."
Now is the time for Book purchase rs to cm:
up their
. libraries. We• underrind that ' a large
assortment of fine library editions elbooks ate sel.
ling at Davis' Auction rooms at very low •pricas.
We think this is the largest and best Seleeied stock.
hat his been offered at Auction in this city:toe
ong time, The books were selected expressly for
his marketby Mr. Pratt who is well known to the
`book•tarying'community. , ' •
11111
CoPPer.
II